Barefoot Running

So barefoot running seems to be all the rage right now (perhaps Zola Budd wasn't crazy after all) and I've been looking into these amazing 5 toes shoes that are supposed to re-create the effect and feeling of barefoot running without actually having to pluck the courage up and pound the tarmac in bare-feet.

You can find these shoes at the website below, as well as many others that I actually quite like the look of.


Vibram Five Fingers


My favourite is the Bikila version, although I quite fancy a pair of the after training / travel shoes. They'd be great on an aircraft. If anyone has tried these shoes or uses them regularly I'd be keen to hear your feedback on them. Please comment below.


On the running front. Things are going well. Since acceptance in to the Marathon on Wednesday last week I've been out a number of times and have clocked up 42k's in 6 days. That's a marathon distance! I just need to squeeze that all into a single 5 hour time period now. 


On the beers done front, I've been quite good there too by not being out mid-week at all in the last two weeks and only having beers on Friday and Saturday. This weekend I'm hoping to put a bigger run in as well. Perhaps stretch out to a 15 or 20k run and see how things go.

I've been accepted!

So over lunch today I checked my e-mail and to my surprise, thinking that I'd missed out on the Tokyo Marathon for 2011 I received the below e-mail:


"Dear Mr. James Hardcastle
ID No : 00976-000

We would like to announce that an additional selection has been done in mid-November to choose extra qualifiers for Tokyo Marathon 2011.

Congratulations! You have been selected as a runner for Tokyo Marathon 2011."

So that is it. It's all back on! After having slacked off on the training thinking I wasn't going to get a place I'm now going to have to turn up the intensity to full volume. With only 95 days left to go it doesn't leave a lot of time to prepare. With that in mind I headed out for a quick run this evening. I wheezed, puffed and hauled myself around a new 8k course. It was my first run in 10 days, my first run from my new house and my first run with a winter jacket on.  A lot of firsts but I better get used to it.

Now, where was I with the kilometers run to beers done ratio.......

Still nothing heard

So 105 days to go to the Tokyo Marathon and still nothing heard from the organisers on these mysterious extra 1,000 places they are supposedly making available and also on the 2nd lottery draw for those places that weren't confirmed in time from the 1st lottery draw.


I have still been getting some training runs in but perhaps not quite enough for a full marathon. Last week I competed in the FIT For Charity 10k with a run time of 1hr 4 mins. Slightly disappointed as I thought I would have been quicker than 1hr, however the 1st 2k's were very slow at almost walking pace due to the number of people. The run itself was a great day out, starting in the National Stadium in Tokyo and looping out of the stadium and around 4 times for a total of 10k. Over 6,500 people turned up for the day and I think somewhere around ¥67 million was raised for various local charities.


I'm thinking of entering the Zushi half marathon which is 1 week after the Tokyo Marathon and on the coast. It might be a nice run to participate in and it won't need the full commitment to run as it's only a half marathon. I'll wait to the end of the month to hear from the Tokyo Marathon organisers and if nothing heard will see if I can enter the Zushi half marathon.


On a side note using Nike+ Sportband I've completed over 500km's and I got a nice congrats from Paula Radcliffe:


Paula Radcliffe Congrats



Somehow I don't think that was a personal message to me! I've also created a new challenge on the Nike+ website to run 501 kilometers in 2011.


501 in 2011



This supersedes my Run 365 in 2010 which I completed last month. Upping the level a bit for 2011 and we'll see if I can complete this challenge. If you're a runner on the Nike+ website click the link above and join my challenge to see how you do against me. Starts 1st Jan, see you there.

There's still hope

that I can get a place in the Tokyo Marathon 2011. According to the Daily Yomiuri, due to the number of applications for entry, the organisers are making a further 1,000 places available. There is a slim chance I could get one of these places. I've e-mailed the organisers asking what I need to do and I'm still waiting to hear further instruction. There are some rumours that this may be an auction. I.e. the highest 1,000 bidders make the cut. In which case I'm stuffed as I'm not paying over the odds to put myself through all that pain!


I'm also led to believe that there will be a 2nd lottery in November to fill the space of those applicants that made the cut in the 1st lottery but haven't finalised payment or completed subscription to the marathon. So hopefully, if a lot of people who have won a place don't follow through on it, then I might just have a chance of picking one of these spaces up.


Of course there is nothing official on the Tokyo Marathon web site but fingers crossed in the hope I can still land a place in this Marathon.


So with the hope of gaining a place in the Tokyo Marathon the training must still continue. Last week was a better week with 4 runs completed for a total of about 30K. This evening I've also just got back from my longest run in a while. 11K achieved in 1 hour, 6 minutes and 46 seconds. Not bad and that's the sort of pace I would like to maintain for a full Marathon. A lot more work to do to be able to manage that though. With that in mind I've signed myself up for the annual FIT (Financial Industry in Tokyo) Charity 10K run on November 7th.


http://fitforcharity.org/



This will be a fun day out and an easy 10k run whilst giving me something to focus for in the short term.

Application REJECTED

"Tokyo Marathon 2011 - Notification of selection

Thank you very much for your entry.
We regret to advise you that you have not been selected to run this year. 
We look forward for your application to Tokyo Marathon again in the future.

Kind regards,

Tokyo Marathon 2011 Registration Desk"

The above was the e-mail I got back from the Tokyo Marathon Registration Desk. Not much more I can do I guess. So I won't be running the 2011 Tokyo Marathon and I imagine there will also be a lot more like me. Perhaps those that didn't get selected could form an alternate marathon? There would certainly be a lot more of us. Or perhaps we could all go find a pub somewhere and watch it on the TV instead.

Anyway re-think is now on. Do I wait to apply for the 2012 Tokyo Marathon and consider myself lucky I'm not running in 2011, or do I find another marathon somewhere to run next year? There are a number of marathons in Japan I could enter. Any suggestions welcome.

I now also need to work out what to do with my blog. Do I continue it or since I'm no longer running, end it? 

Here endeth thy blog...

Just not enough hours in the day...

... or days in the week, or weeks in the month. So tonight was the first time for me to get out for a run in 14 days. Just not enough training getting in. Excuses are: traveling and drinking. Last week I was out most nights with clients and those nights I wasn't out I was too hung over and tired to go running after a full days work. The week before was a short work week for me, 2 days to be precise and the rest of it was spent traveling in the northern parts of Japan sans running gear.


So I've got 145 days to go until the marathon. There is still time to get the training in but I have to start in earnest soon. Tonight was a good start and a little over 8k's done in 50 minutes. The weather is much more pleasant now than it was in August and September. Humidity and temperatures are both down with this evening being a very balmy 22c. So you think this week would be ideal to get some solid kilometers under my belt. Well unfortunately not. Tomorrow I have a major trade show to attend which includes, wait for it, a cocktail party on conclusion. So yet more beers. Well what about Thursday night I hear you cry. Don't go crazy Wednesday and get some good sleep so you can get out for a run Wednesday. Well I'm afraid that doesn't work either you see as I have a client in town from Singapore and have arranged a few sly beers with him after work Thursday evening. Harumph! Saturday I'm out traveling once again with a flight to Kumamoto to meet with some soon to be relatives, returning Tuesday afternoon. So next week I'm really hoping to start my training regime in all honesty.


Did I mention somewhere that there just wasn't enough time to fit everything in including the training...

Yes, back under 6 minutes per kilometer

Just a quick update. Went for my usual 6.5k run last night and managed a time of 40 minutes 3 seconds. Just over 6 minutes per kilometer. However, tonight the weather was a little cooler and managed the same run in a time of 38 minutes 11 seconds. So finally for the first time since signing up for the marathon I've managed a running time of under 6 minutes per kilometer. It's now time to start stretching out the distance and trying to keep the pace the same. May try for an 8k run tomorrow night.

September and still too hot for running

So September has finally rolled around and I've just got back from another 6.5k training run. Not nice and not easy in this heat at 30+ celcius and 80% humidity . In fact I just heard on NHK news as I'm typing that 4 times as many people have died from heat exhaustion in Japan this year over last year. This heat can't go on forever though and cooler climes must surely be around the corner now.


As for last week, well not much running done I'm afraid whilst in HK. However you will be glad to hear that plenty of beers done to help increase the ratio yet further in favour of beers. It also seems that I'm out for the rest of this week as well; so not much chance for any more training until the weekend.


After just updating my run to the Nike website I noticed Nike has now updated the Nike+ app for iPhone to include a GPS tracker. Seems like a great idea but since I usually run from my front door and back again I don't fancy leading all and sundry on the web to my front door. For anyone who is interested in updating to the latest app the link is below:


New Nike+ iPhone App Link


Right I'm off to go rehydrate myself with... WATER!

One month down

So I'm almost one month into my Marathon training regime and I'm 32km's done for the month but somewhere well over a 100 beers, that might just be the last two weeks. Can't quite remember exactly how many beers precisely (funny how I can remember every kilometer run) but last week was pretty intense with 2 of my firms Directors in town and the previous week in the US. I know the month is not yet over but since I'm flying to Hong Kong on Tuesday I don't think there is much chance of me getting another run in before the month is out.


However, I did get out for a run this evening, which, despite the heat, wasn't too bad although the pace was a bit slow. Unlike last Monday when I got a quick 6km run in, at least that is what I was hoping for. It just happened to be one of the hardest runs I've ever been for. a stitch after the first 0.5km that never went away, a headache from the heat and jet lag from my flight back. For the rest of last week, Tuesday through Saturday, I found myself down the pub either with friends, clients or most often both. Doing this marathon might just need a lot of effort and is going to be damn hard! 


So with next week in Hong Kong that'll be another week lost where the ratio of beers done to kilometers run will tip ever more in the favour of beers done. It may be fun now but some serious training is going to have to start and soon. I'm hoping the following week the weather will cool, the humidity will drop and I'll have less work commitments in the evening (a.k.a. pub visits) so I can get out running and increase both my distance and pace.

O'Hare

So here I am sat in O'Hare airport wating for my flight back to Tokyo, and it couldn't come sooner. Not that I don't like the US. On the contrary, my week in New York and Chicago has been fantastic. It's just my waisteline cannot take the portions of food any more and the amount of red meat consumed, often combined with cheese, must surely be enough for the rest of the year for me.

All those good intentions of getting out for a run or using the hotel gyms fell by the wayside so consequently no training done but a fair few more beers done. I hope that when I get back to Tokyo on Saturday afternoon that I will be able to glue the Adidas shoes on to my feet and go for at least one short run this weekend.

Well better run now (no pun intended) as my flight is being called. See you on the otherside.

199 Days To Go...

So there are 199 days left to go until the Marathon start day. I've now "officially" started training but I won't know if I get a place in the Marathon until mid-October. All I do know is that the Marathon is already over subscribed, so it will be down to a lottery. Fingers crossed, but I've also heard that Johnny Foreigner has a better chance of getting in as the Mayor of Tokyo wants to make Tokyo look a more international city.


So back to the training. Sunday and Tuesday nights were out for short 6.5km runs. In this heat and humidity, and being out of shape like me, that is enough to get started on for sure. Monday night was squash so the week was looking good in terms of fitness regime. Hang on though, the old "Beers Done to Kilmoters Run" ratio was beginning to look like not enough "Beers Done". To redress this balance I decided to have a large one on the tiles last night (Wednesday) taking advantage of a colleagues leaving do for an excuse. I think I must have notched up 10 to 15 beers after running in to some wild clients later on in the evening. This of course leaves me far too tired on a Thursday night to even contemplate training.


Next week sees me depart these shores for a business trip to the USA for 1 week. Good intentions are there and I will be packing my running gear but I'm sure the temptation of all that American style steak houses, pizza parlours and burger joints will not bode well when looked at in contrast of spending the evening in the hotel gymnasium, not to mention the bars and clubs! My only hope is for jet lag to kick me out of bed early enough in the morning to get a training run in. Wish me luck...

The Great Weigh In

So I played squash this evening, which I won of course, but like all great prize fighters, I decided to use the gym scales to find out quite literally what my weigh in is. It's nice to know how much I'm lugging around on these training runs. Well, I tipped the scales at a thoroughly impressive 103kg's (227lb's or 16st 3lb). A little too big even by my standards. I don't fancy running with all that for 42 kilometers so hopefully I'll shed a bit between now and Feb.


Back on to the more important calculation though of "Beers Done v Kilometers Run". I reckon 45 minutes of squash at least qualifies for the equivalent of 6 kilometers run. So by that reckoning the count stands at:


Beers done = 35 / Kilometers run = 12


Comment below on this post if you think I'm cheating.

Beers Done v Kilometers Run

So today I got round to my first training run since submitting my application for the Marathon. With the heat at 30 celcius +, and humidity around 80%, it didn't make for very pleasant running conditions. Anyway 6.5km's done at a rather sedate pace of 41 minutes. You can see the trace of the run here courtesy of my Nike+ and Nike Sportband:


http://go.nike.com/0q8pbnc


It was whilst I was out on the run and thinking as you do that I was wondering if I were to keep record of the amount of beers I drink against the kilometers run in training for Tokyo Marathon 2011 which would be greater? So starting from the beginning of this month, when I submitted the application, and being conservative with the beers, I think it would be something like:


Beers Done = 35 / Kilometers Run = 6


Since half beers don't count, they just never have done and never will, then half kilometers don't count either. It will be interesting to see how this ratio of "Beers Done to Kilometers Run" progresses over time. I'll try to keep mental note and update from time to time.

Poll Results & News

So a spread of results so far from the poll with 1 person stating 3 hours (probably impossible), 1 for 4 hours (ever the optimist), 5 for 5 hours (my target time) and 1 won't finish (there's always 1!). Poll still open so come on and get your votes in.


Of course I'm desperately hoping I can even get a place in the marathon as subscriptions are going through the roof. Apparently Japan is experiencing a bit of a boom lately in running as the news article below, courtesy of the Yomiuri Shinbun, shows:


http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T100806004528.htm


So fingers crossed for October when the lottery is drawn and in the meantime I best start getting some training in.

Shock of realising I've just submitted my application

Me in the office after I’ve just entered my application for the Tokyo Marathon. 26 miles and 385 yards or in new money 42.135 kilometers!

Registration - 207 Days To Go

So I’ve finally done it. Yesterday, after deliberating about entering the Tokyo Marathon in 2009 and 2010, I submitted my application for the Tokyo Marathon next year to be held on 27th February 2011. Not sure what I have let myself in for other than blood sweat and tears Any others masochists, fools and idiots out there that want to join me can also apply here:

http://www.tokyo42195.org/2011/index_en.html

Subscription closes 31st August 2010. According to the latest update on the site subscriptions have already exceeded the total places available. Places will be decided by lottery with the lucky 32,000 applicants being notified of a place by mid October. Fingers crossed that I’m one of them... on the other hand...